hope the black dog

We are always on the look out for new favourite shops, and recently we have added another fab shop to our list. hope the black dog is an Etsy shop where there is a £1 donation to Mind for every sale. They are all about promoting positive mental health and well-being. We caught up with founder Amy Donoghue to find out more.

Hi Amy, please can you tell us more about yourself and how you came to set up hope the black dog?I started hope the black dog in January 2016 when I was suffering with a bout of depression. I have always suffered from Anxiety, but with work stress and heightened anxiety, my mental health was not good at all. I have always had to challenge myself out of these dark spells by setting goals or learning new skills. I have always loved crafting, and I'd found a cross stitch that was half finished from about ten years previous, I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to do more and more. Eventually I had way too many things and not enough space, so I wanted to make for others too. I also wanted to primarily focus on craft kits so that other people can benefit from the therapeutic goodness of creating. I also donate £1 to Mind for every sale because I really wanted to make a difference and help others.

We love your Hug Box! How did you come up with the idea for it?Thank you! I love my hug box too! I remember seeing someone saying on social media that all their friends weren't around and they needed a hug. At first I thought about just making small embroideries saying "hug" and then I got carried away with the idea! Apparently, hugs that last longer than 20 seconds have an euphoric effect on the body, releasing the body's natural antidepressants. I wanted to try and recreate those feelings so I gathered some thoughts and some scientific research to collate some lovely surprises that mimic those endorphins! I've had such a good response so far, it really seems to work!

Do you have any new products or ranges in the pipeline?My newest products are a range of "bopo" or body positive pants. I know from my own experience that when you're wearing nice underwear, your whole day just feels better! These pants are super comfy and also hand embroidered with statements of empowerment on them to give you that boost in the morning!

We think hope the black dog is a great idea, and we definitely need a hug box!